By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : America is focused on the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan in its war on terror as it is the epicentre of global Islamic extremism and the origin of the Sep 11 terror attack, according to the US military chief.
“Al Qaeda still plots and plans, especially in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is the epicentre of global Islamic extremism, the origin of the 9/11 attacks,” Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told foreign correspondents here Tuesday.
“And should we be hit again, I am convinced the planning, training and financing as well as leadership will emanate from there. That’s why we are so focused on it,” he said. “That’s why we believe this mission is in our vital national security interest and those of our allies and friends.
“And while I focus on the region and talk, let’s say, about Central Asia or India and Pakistan and Afghanistan, per se, there’s an international aspect of this. This is a global … the terrorism problem is a global problem,” Mullen said in response to a question.
“This is the centre of what I call the epicentre. And so I think the leadership from many countries, including Saudi Arabia, to help solve these problems is absolutely vital in terms of how we move ahead,” he said when asked what role he saw for the Middle Eastern nation.
“The whole issue of reconciliation and reintegration (with the Taliban) is a critical part of our overall strategy, and those that can facilitate that would certainly be more than welcome,” he added, when asked if the US wanted Saudi Arabia to engage with the Taliban mediation approaches.
The admiral said it was most important to recognise the US mission “to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda, to degrade the Taliban’s influence, and to prevent Afghanistan or Pakistan from becoming safe havens” as “a regional challenge”.
A key part of the President Barack Obama’s strategy is to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan and to improve the level of coordination across and within those border regions, he said.
“I believe that to the degree we can do this, we can certainly help the Pakistanis themselves get at those safe havens.”